Christopher Schildt, in Stephen Witty's article discussing Mary Shelley's "monster" in Frankenstein, depicts the true meaning of the novel, and he could not be any more right.
"Mary Shelley was not writing about the evils of science and progress," insists Christopher Schildt..."But Suffering and loss and pain, the feeling of being ostracized- that I think she knew very well. And I think people have always felt that, and so they can feel for the monster too....There's a bit of the creature in all of us." (Witty). Stephen Witty uses Schildt's quote to very critically define the overall meaning of Shelley's novel. This meaning discusses not about the problems of everyday life, but pain, anguish, and despair. That many people go through terrible things with nothing to fall back on, nothing to rely on, but only themselves and their thoughts and desires.
"I paused. This, I thought, was the moment of decision, which was to rob me of or bestow happiness on me forever. I struggled vainly for firmness sufficient to answer him, but the effort destroyed all my remaining strength; I sank on the chair and sobbed aloud." (Shelley, 123). In this quote, the creature is describing his inner struggle that he faces to De Lacey, the old blind man. This struggle consists of his lacking of comfort and compatibility with another being. He relies on his desire to seek companionship to help guide him in the right direction with relating to and conversing with man. Shelley elaborates on the dark side of mankind after the younger villagers return and chase the monster out because of his hideous appearance. They do not give him the time of day to show his courteousness, and to prove his innocence. Instead, they use stereotypical tactics to automatically portray the creature in a negative light. Now, alone, the creature seeks revenge.
Christopher Schildt concisely depicts the meaning of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The struggles, difficulties, and tragedies that human beings go through are inevitable. From the beauties of life, can come a just as terrible facet on the other side. Many times people only have themselves to rely on, and they need to continue on with life with no matter what size obstacle is in the way.
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First, I love your title of this post! And secondly, nice job developing your discussion. Textual support is well-chosen! Keep up the good work. Your first post did not necessarily have to be about the debate, but about your overall reaction to reading Frankenstein at that point.
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